POOR JUDGE is Now Playing at the Wilma Theater

The Wilma Theater is presenting the return of the Barrymore Award-winning production, Poor Judge – A Pig Iron Production, a dance-theater cabaret set to the music of Grammy Award-winning artist Aimee Mann. After earning rave reviews, three Barrymore Awards, and praise from Mann herself, Poor Judge returns for a limited run due to popular demand. 

Dreamed up by legendary drag queen and Pig Iron Theatre Company (Pig Iron) Co-Founder Dito Van Reigersberg, the dance-theater cabaret explores love, ambition, and the dark side of the American success story told through Mann’s evocative catalog. The new production, directed by Eva Steinmetz, with musical direction and arrangements by Alex Bechtel, features a supergroup cast of Philadelphia actor-musicians: Emily Bate, Bechtel, Josh Machiz, Pax Ressler, izzy sazak, Jackie Soro, and Justin Yoder. Poor Judge runs from January 13 to 25, with 10 performances presented in the Wilma’s 300-seat theater, followed by an on-demand streaming presentation available worldwide from February 2 to 22.

Poor Judge is a live music mixtape that’s part spy story, part woeful tale of heartbreak, and part Hollywood audition. Through vignette and song, the dance-cabaret offers glimpses of an inviting, seductive Los Angeles and its shadow: the frightening underbelly of the American Success Story. Be prepared for a night of lonely California highways, cinematic breakups, and sly acoustic re-imaginings of Aimee Mann’s award-winning songs. The production’s musical repertoire comprises 10 songs from the renowned singer-songwriter’s four-decade career, including the Academy Award-nominated single “Save Me” from Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1999 film, Magnolia, “Goose Snow Cone” from the 2017 Grammy Award-winning album Mental Illness, and “I’ve Had It” from her debut solo album Whatever. 

Pig Iron presented the world premiere of Poor Judge on the Wilma’s stage during the 2024 Fringe Festival, which immediately received rave reviews from critics, calling it “an unforgettable trip” (Philadelphia Inquirer). In 2025, Poor Judge went on to receive 9 Barrymore Award nominations and won three for Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical, Outstanding Media Design (Michael Long), and Outstanding Music Direction (Alex Bechtel). Mann herself has seen the show and come out in support of the production in an Instagram post she shared following the announcement of Poor Judge’s return in 2026.

The Wilma Theater, recipient of the 2024 Tony Award for Best Regional Theater, has long maintained a reputation as a hub for contemporary and bold art in Philadelphia. While it continues to present original and boundary-pushing art, the Wilma has partnered with companies like Pig Iron and Washington, D.C.’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company to extend that creative spirit beyond its own productions, further expanding its adventurous offerings for audiences.

“[Fellow Wilma Co-Artistic Directors] Lindsay Smiling, Yury Urnov, and I loved Poor Judge so much during its world premiere run last year, so the decision to bring it back was a no-brainer,” said Morgan Green, Co-Artistic Director of the Wilma. “Between the nostalgic Aimee Mann hits, the electric performances, and the rich visual design, this show leaves you feeling warm inside. We think that is what people need right now: a warm feeling of togetherness.”

While van Reigersberg initially conceived Poor Judge in 2022, he was forced to put the project on hold after he was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia that same year. He spent the majority of 2023 undergoing chemotherapy and receiving a bone marrow transplant while continuing to work on the project with director Eva Steinmetz. 

“Poor Judge was a lifeline,” said van Reigersberg. “[Director Eva Steinmetz] and I even had phone meetings when I was in the hospital, and it was really helpful to think of future projects waiting for me while I was in recovery.”

In 2024, van Reigersberg emerged triumphant and cancer-free, going on to perform in Poor Judge’s world premiere presentation at the Wilma.

Steinmetz added that the show’s structure, a mashup of cinematic Hollywood heartbreak with live arrangements of Mann’s songs, seemed to really strike a chord with Philadelphia audiences, with many patrons returning to see it multiple times during its original run.  

“I think Dito Van Reigersberg, already known as the beloved drag performer as Martha Graham Cracker, is able to show us quieter and more vulnerable parts of his heart with this show,” said Steinmetz. “Something about Alex Bechtel's arrangements of Mann's songs brings out a delicacy that touches audiences. There’s a familiar grief and longing at the heart of the show, for a partner who maybe never loved you, for the elusive pot of gold at the end of the American rainbow. That grief, unfortunately, feels even more acute in 2026. I think audiences will be delighted and moved to be in the presence of these heartfelt performers and haunting melodies.”

The new production of Poor Judge features the original Philadelphia actor-musicians who thrilled audiences in the production’s 2024 world premiere, including singer, composer, and performer Emily Bate (Wig Wag, A Ride on the Irish Cream), musician, comedian, and composer Josh Machiz (Sunset 0639 Hours), izzy sazak (Vainglorious, We Are Bandits), Jackie Soro (Wig Wag, Meet Me at Dawn), and Justin Yoder (Man of La Mancha, Once). Following the news of van Reigersberg stepping away from the production due to ongoing medical treatment, Philadelphia singer-actor Pax Ressler (Contradict This!, GIRL DOLLS: The American Musical) was invited to perform the lead role by the Poor Judge creative leaders. The ensemble is anchored by Barrymore Award-winning multi-instrumentalist and music director Alex Bechtel (Penelope, The Appointment), who composed the imaginative arrangements of Mann’s music.